Tea Drinkers at Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Drinking black tea may lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study of people in 50 countries. Type 2 diabetes has been increasing rapidly around the world and is a serious concern, as it significantly increases the risk of heart attacks, kidney disease, and many other complications. Previous studies have found a link between coffee consumption and a lower risk of diabetes. In this study, the authors compared country-by-country sales data on black tea to national prevalence rates for a variety of conditions, including type 2 diabetes. Statistical analyses demonstrated that rates of this disease are low where people drink the most black tea. The champion black tea imbibers are the Irish, with the British and the Turks not far behind. The investigators caution that this association does not imply a causative link, and also that population level data may not hold up for individuals. All the same, black tea contains a number of flavonoid compounds such as theaflavins and thearubigins that seem to have health benefits.[BMJ Open, Nov. 8, 2012]

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3 Thoughts Shared

RM

November 18, 2012 at 1:33 pm

DS

November 16, 2012 at 6:34 pm

Is it the black tea or the whole milk in the tea? Frankly I think statistical analysis isn’t as reliable as personal observation. Do what works for you. Politicians lie with statistics all the time, as do studies using “relative risk”, making meaningless differences sound important. If Shakespeare were writing today, maybe one of his characters would say, “First, kill all the statisticians.”

Peridot

November 16, 2012 at 5:52 pm

I keep reading about this dramatic increase in the number of diabetics & wonder how the change in acceptable blood sugar numbers relates to this. 80-120 use to be acceptable & then with the advent of oral hypoglycemics the numbers were lowered to 80-100. Wouldn’t this have an affect on the numbers?

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